Reunion
by suze-the-practical-ghost
Summary: Percy and Annabeth's reunion after The Lost Hero. OneShot.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All hail Rick Riordan.**

It was foolish and dangerous and she knew it.

When night fell after the meeting in the Big House, Annabeth was restless. Percy was somewhere in the San Francisco area in a camp of extremely dangerous and hostile warrior demigods. And she was supposed to sit around and wait for_ six months_ for a whole freakin' boat to be built. Naturally, knowing her well enough, Chiron sought her out.

As she had paced the water's edge, eyes frantically searching the waves— desperate for some connection— Annabeth's old teacher had delivered the ultimatum. "No," he had said before she had spoken a word. "This is not a problem you can fix alone, Annabeth. Percy will be alright for now, and we need you here. We will search, my child, have no doubt of that, but for now we must wait." Annabeth had turned her head back towards the sea and said nothing, making no promises. Chiron's words were sharp. "If you are caught sneaking away, you will not go with the others after the ship is complete. I swear it upon the river Styx. The last war between the camps was a bloodshed you would not imagine." Silence. "We cannot afford to lose you too, Annabeth," he said softly. "I stand by my word. Understood?"

Annabeth met his eyes, hers burning with defiance. "Understood."

For three months she restrained herself. She helped design the _Argo II_, and trained like a good camper. But then, staring at the minotaur horn hanging on his walls next to the shield that Tyson— oh gods, he probably didn't even _remember_ Tyson— had so carefully crafted and repaired, she crumbled. Violent sobs wracked her body and she sank to the floor of the long deserted cabin. When her cries became nothing more than shaky gasps, Annabeth decided: it was stop playing the helpless damsel. She was Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena; if anyone could find Percy, it was her. Besides, hadn't Percy done the same for her? He had held up the entire world for her— they shared a reminder, as if they could ever forget. A long as they had been friends, neither had let breaking a few rules in order to save the other stop them, and Annabeth was not about to let that change.

So she planned. Chiron had sworn an oath he could not break, and so Annabeth could not get caught. At every spare hour of the days and well into the hours of night, Annabeth poured over maps and research, narrowing down the areas where a large, secret training camp would be. Although she was anxious to find him, she had to make the plans perfect. According to Jason, these Roman demigods were not as hospitable and gentle as the residents of Camp Half-Blood, and chances are she would be seen as an intruder…if they even bothered to look before they attacked. On that train of thought, the original plan seemed ridiculous. If Camp Half-Blood was approached by a giant, flying ship of demigods, even the Greek heroes would swarm it heavily armed and clad in battle gear. If the Romans were as harsh as they seemed, the ship would be in splinters the second it landed. At least, Annabeth convinced herself that this was all the more reason to make a solo journey. After another month of planning, Annabeth packed her bag, fitted her Yankee Cap, and slipped into the night.

"_Blackjack,_" Annabeth whispered, keeping her eyes peeled for any harpies passing the stables. The black pegasus opened one eye curiously. Annabeth removed her cap, becoming visible again, and the beast snorted. "C'mon. We're going to find Percy, whether Chiron approves or not." Blackjack shook out his mane and whinnied softly. "Let's go, boy," she said, quietly climbing onto his back. She replaced her cap and said to the winged horse, "_West_." And with that, they were on their way.

So…_maybe_ things didn't go exactly as planned.

When Annabeth felt like something was near, she told Blackjack to land so they could investigate on foot. She had tucked away her Yankees hat a while ago after almost losing it in a windstorm. The two wandered around in the California woods for about two hours when Annabeth got this feeling like they were being followed. "Maybe it's time to go back in the air," she muttered. Blackjack made a noise of agreement. The brush rustled in all directions. "Maybe sooner rather than later!" she said, and jumped on his back. Blackjack had barely extended his wings when a large net was thrown over them. Annabeth fell to the ground and felt her arm twist savagely. She scrambled out from the net and tried to disentangle it from Blackjack, but a pair of burly arms encircled her and threw her to the ground where her head hit with a sickening _crack_. Blackjack was neighing and pumping his wings, until some other people managed to subdue him. Annabeth was feeling lightheaded and felt the blackout coming. "_Don't hurt him_," she managed to whisper before fading from consciousness.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

Percy Jackson was instructed that he needed to focus on training and remembering, not the prisoner tied to statue of Zeus at the camp's core. While others went in groups to gawk at the girl who was bound and gagged and very pretty (or so he had been told,) Percy had been doing what Lupa had ordered him to do. The intruder had been found around the outskirts of the property on a solid black pegasus and brought in for questioning. However, rather than answering questions, she had started firing off her own. When things got out of hand between her and Reyna, the latter had figured public humiliation was the best tactic.

It was during Percy's free period that the alarm broke out.

The intruder had broken free of her bonds, and the entire camp was in uproar. All warriors had been summoned to arms, and the girl was cornered in the training ring. She had only a bronze dagger to defend herself, but had taken down several Romans already. She stood with her back to the armory, surrounded on all sides. Percy had not donned any armor, but threw on a helmet and grabbed Riptide. He was towards the middle of the advancing pack of warriors, and was straining to get a look at the trouble maker. She didn't _look_ like much from where he was, but as he got closer, he saw her face. There was a feeling he couldn't quite place that surged through him, but one thing was for sure; he _knew_ her.

"_Wait!_"

No one paid any attention to his outburst. The girl gripped her knife in one hand and wiped at the dirt smudged on her cheek. At the sound of his cry, she dropped her stance a fraction and her eyes roamed the crowd for the owner of the outburst. Percy pushed through the crowd until he had broken through the first lines of attack. He pulled his helmet off by the plume and dropped it in the grass. The girl stared at him as if there weren't dozens of weapons pointed at her— like there was only _him_— and her lower lip quivered.

Lupa stepped forward. "_What is the meaning of this?_" she growled.

Percy would have answered, but he couldn't tear his attention from the girl.

"Do you _know_ her?" someone asked in the deadly silence. But Percy couldn't find words.

Then the girl spoke, her voice strained and hoarse. "Well, Seaweed Brain? What's my name?"

He tried to remember, and it was _so _close, on the edge of his memory. He stared into her blazing grey eyes that seemed to plead with him, but somehow he could not grasp the memory long enough to remember. "I…I don't…"

"_Percy_," she said, her voice sounding strangled.

The way her voice formed his name, it set everything back in its place. His whole body felt flushed and felt wired. _Of course_ he knew her. This girl was his as he was hers. He knew those eyes and the feel of his fingers running through her blonde curls. He knew of the grey streak carefully tucked away under the rest of her hair. He knew every battle scar on her body and the way her fingers felt on his Achilles Heel, the most vulnerable part of him. He also knew _her_: the architect, the girl who wanted to rebuild the world— and the facets of her she showed no one else but him. It was her very being, it was…

"Annabeth." No more than a whisper, but she heard.

Her knife hit the grass with a thud and in two strides she had her arms around his neck. He let his arms encircle her waist and pulled her close, feeling as close to himself as he had in months. Her voice thick with tears, she whispered, "If you _ever_ scare me like that again, Seaweed Brain, I swear to the gods I will make the Minotaur seem like a baby goat."

Percy smiled into her hair. "I missed you too Wise Girl."

**AN: Yes so I am aware that I am supposed to have virtually retired from FF, but I read TLH and this has been haunting me ever since. Deal with it. Obsession is a bitch and this is supposed to help it go away, but I doubt it will. Oh and don't expect to hear from me after this, but I may or may not turn up again.**


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